On Monday August 2, 2010 police in Beijing detained Ye Haiyan, an activist with community based organisation the China Women’s Rights Workshop, after she joined other sex workers in publicly petitioning for the Chinese government to decriminalise prostitution.
The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) have released a statement in which they explain how they stand in solidarity with Ye Haiyan, human rights defenders, and sex workers who speak up against stigma, discrimination, and the criminalisation of their livelihoods.
During the last few weeks, Chinese sex workers have been in the spotlight, with the police practice of “shame parades” that publicly display and shame arrested sex workers receiving international media attention.
The story of Ye Haiyan’s arrest has been covered by the UK Guardian and reuters among others.
